A combination of “Deliverance” and “Friday the 13th,” this film involves a group of forest workers and friends who decide to camp out in the Redwood forests of Northern California, where a story circulates about an escaped mental patient and her son, conceived through rape. “The Final Terror” (1983) was filmed in the Redwoods during the late summer of 1981 with just four people working on the crew. The scenery is beautiful, the villain comes across well, and the cast—who weren’t really known at that point—is varied. However, the screenplay doesn't give us enough to understand who these characters are; they remain fairly flat, and many of them come off as unlikeable in a way that just isn’t believable. It’s hard to connect with them or feel invested in what happens. The movie does pick up after the halfway point, evolving into a survival story set in the woods, incorporating some unique ideas, such as how the people being hunted attempt to turn the tables and become hunters themselves. The film sat on a shelf for more than two years because no one could find a company willing to release it. Because the movie only had three deaths, an introductory scene showing a couple getting killed was added in hopes of securing distribution. This addition wasn’t approved by the director, so the producer had to pay extra, some of which came from money that was supposed to be used for the director's wedding. Surprisingly, this opening sequence is one of the movie’s strongest points and features the only woman who stands out physically. I’m not saying the other actresses were bad; it just seems like the director didn’t quite know how to film women effectively. Daryl Hannah (Wendy) and Rachel Ward (Margaret) weren't famous then, but they went on to do bigger and better things. Adrian Zmed (Marco Cerone) did as well, though not with quite the same level of success. The movie is 1 hour and 22 minutes long and was shot in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, located in far Northern California, and around Crescent City. GRADE: C+

Source on TMDB